Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Most people I know have heard it’s healthy to eat the rainbow by
munching on at least 5-9 servings of color-rich fruits and veggies per day. Want to learn how simple it is to do that, and eat delicious produce-packed fresh food combinations like I do?

This photo essay shows you how easy it is to include more of this
good stuff into breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. I cook with my eyes as well as my other senses to bring you brightly colored
veggies and fruits that are healthy, tasty, and easy to prepare. See this fun 4-day vegan meal plan reveal. Please use my ideas
to amp up your own meal planning.

Note:
any vegetable, fruit, legume, bean, nut, seed, or whole grain mentioned in this
post is organic. I buy, grow, and eat organic fruits and vegetables. This
designation assures the produce hasn’t been genetically modified (NO GMO’S), is
not grown in soil, fertilized, or sprayed with toxic chemicals or pesticides,
and the integrity of the plant is maintained and its innate nourishing, healing
qualities are left intact.

The pictures above are just a sample of what follows.

Plan vegan meals
with care, and you'll reap BIG rewards. There are so many vegetables and fruits in the world
to choose from, you'll never get tired of eating them. Make sure your meals contain an assortment of produce,
whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and beans to get all the nutrients you need
to stay healthy, happy, and improve the quality of your life.

Plant-based recipes can have added flavor and increased health benefits, when you use lively herbs and spices for seasoning. Vegan dishes are cost effective and eating this way gives you pep and energy to spare.

Please let me know which dishes and serving ideas you like most or are curious about. I'll do my best, in forthcoming
blog posts, to supply food facts and the recipes for them.

Open Tempeh Ginger Salad Wrap with chopped Broccoli, Carrots, Onion and Tomatoes on a Collard Leaf

*Key Information: The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
(AND) official position on a vegan eating plan advises that an appropriately
planned vegan diet is best for reducing the risk and treating illness such as
heart disease, hypertension, some forms of cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Their
research shows that vegan diets were found effective at promoting a lower body
mass index (BMI), are more environmentally friendly than other diets, and safe
for people in all stages of life-including athletes, pregnant women, children,
and older athletes. Read More About a Plant-based Lifestyle:

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

When we receive
a gift of fresh flowers or present them to ourselves, this caring act draws
positive energy into our lives. Each flower family and its hue has an energy of its own. Read on to discover ways colorful flowers with distinctive color frequencies can increase joy and a sense of well-being in you.

Flowers please our senses. Noticing a flower’s
subtle or bright color, touching the petals, leaves, and stalks as we arrange
them in a vase, and inhaling the fragrant aroma delights us. Our contact with this form of nature transmits the plants’
earthy, vibrant energy to us. Some, like me, feel an interdependent
relationship with plants deep in my being. My food plan is a plant-based whole food one, and I know and appreciate that I can't exist on earth without flora in my life.

Now science backs up what vegans have been observing, studying, and sensing over the years. Results from Nutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-based Diets affirms the major benefits for patients who decide to
start a plant-based diet. It can help them reduce the number of
medications they take to treat a variety of chronic conditions, lower body
weight, decrease the risk of cancer, and reduce their risk of death from
ischemic heart disease.In another study, Researchers Jeannette Haviland-Jones, professor of psychology, and husband Terry McGuire, professor of genetics and evolutionary biologistfrom Rutgers
University in New Jersey, explored the the link between flowers and life satisfaction.

This 10-month
study traced and tabulated participants' behavioral and emotional responses to
receiving flowers and followed-up to note long-term effects.

Ta-da. The
results show that flowers are a natural, healthful moderator of moods (stabilizes them) and has potent power to elevate moods.*Flowers have an
immediate impact on happiness. All study participants expressed
"true" or "excited" smiles upon receiving flowers,
demonstrating extraordinary delight and gratitude. This reaction was universal,
occurring in all age groups.

*Flowers help us
feel a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.*Flowers make
intimate connections. The presence of flowers led to increased contact with
family and friends.

*Flowers have a strong positive effect on our emotional well-being. They bypass reason and interact
with us at a basic, sensory level.

Our reaction to colors and flowers is extremely personal, so remember to check in with yourself often.

If you want guidance in selecting an appropriate flower, see:

Flower Power Ideas

Yellow flowers are cheery, a symbol of friendship, respect, rebirth, and faithfulness. The birthday flower for the month of March is a yellow flower called a Daffodil (from the Narcissus family). Choosing a bouquet of daffodils is a fine way to celebrate the idea that spring is right around the corner. Yellow flowers convey lighthearted, whimsical, energetic vibrations. For an easy, economical way to harness this power for your good, use your imagination to visualize a bunch of your favorite yellow flowers. If you prefer, visit a local farmer’s
market, your neighborhood green grocer, or pick a few from your garden. Set
the intention to use yellow to your advantage. Invite this happy color into your home, office, and heart.

Red Roses smell heavenly. Red and rose colored ones traditionally signify love, passion, romance. Spotting them in a garden or looking at your beloved may lead to poetic inspiration. Read this from Robert Burns: A Red, Red Rose.The
red rose is a subject pictured in Greek and Roman art, where it was tied to
Aphrodite, or Venus, the goddess of love.

Lilac is the color of the flowers below. It is a light purple shade. In florist speak, lilac flowers symbolize first love. Lilacs bloom in springtime, and for this reason represent fresh starts and renewal.Lilacs also denote confidence, which makes them a good gift for Mother's Day and grads.

The shade that is most popular for lilacs is captured in the picture above. Other shades of lilac flowers can be dark mauve, lavender, or white. If the bush is a "lilac" lilac, it can range from palelilac, to richlilac, to deeplilac.

Lilacs can be a spiritual helper, because violet is a spirit centered ray. Envision this color to help you clear a space or situation (physical, mental, or emotional) you feel you're stuck in. Lilacs are often preferred by feminine personalities, and those who are delicate and sensitive. Once lilacs are cut from a lilac bush, the flowers don't last for more than a day or two. Enjoy lilacs' heavenly scent and know you are worth this special short-lived treat.

Don't forget to comment and give my readers and me feedback. What's your favorite flower and why do you love it? Are there any flowers you don't like and why? Would you like to learn more fun things to do with colors?